The Bone Knight is a melee fighter that tampers with the forbidden might of undeath. He has grown fond of combat, with each kill he becomes less human, a lifeless husk of cruelty. Your very being is corrupted and your touch is death. You ghastly visage can send the faint at heart cowering from you. And you are flanked by ranks of the undead. Ultimately you transform into an intelligent undead abomination.

The Bone Knight focuses on melee combat. Up close and personal, he is truly a fearsome foe that saps the very life essence from his foes. His minions will overwhelm the unprepared. The Bone Knight recieves gifts from Vecna as he continue on his path toward undeath.

Abilities: Physical attributes are the most important for a Bone Knight, although a decent intelligence score is needed for many useful class abilities.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The Bone Knight is proficient with Simple & Martial weapons and all Armors and Shields (Including tower shields)as well as any weapons made of bone.

Gifts of Undeath: At level 1, 3, 6, and 9, the Bone Knight may select one of the below abilities once and only once.

Undead Master The Bone Knight can cast Animate Dead 1/day and Command Undead 3/day. At class level 6, you can cast Create Undead 1/day. At class level 10, you can cast Create Greater Undead 1/day. For the purposes of these spells, your caster level is equal to you character level minus 3.

Skeletal Minion: The Bone Knight gains the service of a skeleton. It can either be a medium sized humanoid skeleton or a large sized horse skeleton to serve as a mount. Skeletal Minion has undead traits and HD equal to 3/4 the Bone Knight's HD. The Skeletal Minion has a bonus to natural armor, attack rolls, and damage rolls equal to you Intelligence modifier. The Bone Knight can command the Skeletal Minion using any language he knows, but the Skeletal Minion can only follow simple commands, such as attack, guard, stand still, walk, run, etc... The Skeletal Minion cannot be turned if it is within 10ft of the Bone Knight. If the Skeletal Minion is destroyed, a Bone Knight must wait one week before creating a new one. This ritual requires 1 hour and one medium sized humanoid corpse or a large sized horse corpse.

Negative Energy Aura: You emanate a 10ft radius of negative energy. Each round on your turn, every living creature in your aura takes negative energy damage equal to 1/3 class level (minimum 1). Undead creatures instead heal that many hit points per round (though they can’t exceed their full normal hit point total from this effect). Each day you can keep this aura active for 1 round/class level, though the rounds need not be consecutive.

Iron Mind: You gain a +2 class bonus to your Will Save. You and your Skeletal Minion gain a +2 class bonus to turn resistance. At level 5, the turn resistance increases by an additional +2. At level 10, the turn resistance increases by an additional +2.

Aura of Desecration: The Bone Knight is constantly surrounded by the forces of death and can empower the undead. As a swift action, you can activate this 20ft radius aura which functions similarly to a Desecrate spell except that you are the center of the effect. If you are wearing a holy symbol of a Vecna that costs 1000gp or more, then you may gain the bonuses of having a shrine or altar to your god.

Vampiric Touch: Must be at least class level 3 to choose this ability. Your Blighted Touch ability now siphons the life force from enemies you touch. Whenever you successfully use this ability against a living creature, you gain 1d8 Temporary Hit Points + 1/class level. The Temporary Hit Points do not stack and disappear 1 hour later. At level 6, you Blighted Touch is treated as a ranged touch attack with a range of 30ft.

Bone Armor: At level 1, the Bone Knight can take any masterwork armor or armor with an enhancement he has and recraft it into a suit of Bone Armor, which is made entirely of bones. This requires a week of work and 500gp in bones with a craft DC of 20. Bone Armor is more flexible and it's maximum Dexterity bonus increased by 1, and the Armor Check Penalty is reduced by 1. The maximum Dexterity bonus increase by 1 at level 5 and by 1 at level 10. Similarly the Armor Check Penalty decreases by 1 at level 5 and by 1 at level 10. While worn, Bone Armor also grants you a +2 class bonus on Intimidate checks. Bone Armor is no longer metal and is not subject to spells such as chill metal or to special attacks that target metal, such as a rust monster’s touch. This armor is half the weight of normal armor, rounded up. If anyone but you wears this armor, they suffer a -4 to all rolls until they take it off.

Vile Smite: At level 1, the Bone Knight calls upon the powers of death to deal extra damage to the living. A Bone Knight may attempt to smite the living with one normal melee attack. The Bone knight adds his intelligence bonus (if any) to his attack roll and deals 2 negative energy damage/class level. If the Bone Knight accidentally smites a creature that is not living, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + 1/3 class level (rounded down).

Skull Shield: At level 2, the Bone Knight can strap the skulls of his enemies to his shield. A Bone Knight can only have one such skull attached to his shield at any time. Against creatures of that subtype (Goblinoid, Giant, Dragon, etc...), a Bone Knight has a +2 attack roll bonus and a +4 intimidation bonus. A Bone Knight can switch skulls on the shield as a full round action that provokes an attack of oppurtunity.

Blighted Touch: At level 3, the Bone Knight with an Intelligence score of 12 or higher can inflict wounds by touch. Each day he can deal a total negative energy damage equal to his Bone Knight level × his Intelligence bonus. A Bone Knight may choose to divide his damage among multiple recipients, and her doesn’t have to use it all at once. Using Blighted Touch is a standard action.

Undead Sub-type: At level 7, the bone knight performs a suicide ritual that takes 1 day, requires an unholy altar, a dagger, and 3,000 gp in regents, candles, and oils. He commits ritual suicide at the end of the ceremony and arises 1d4 hours later as an intelligent Skeleton. You keep all of your class levels, BAB, feats, saves and skills. You gain the Undead subtype:

Not subject to critical hits, nonlethal damage, ability drain, or energy drain. Immune to damage to its physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution), as well as to fatigue and exhaustion effects.

Negative energy (such as an inflict spell) can heal undead creatures.

Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless).

Uses its Charisma modifier for Concentration checks.

Not at risk of death from massive damage, but when reduced to 0 hit points or less, it is immediately destroyed.

Not affected by raise dead and reincarnate spells or abilities. Resurrection and true resurrection can affect undead creatures. These spells turn undead creatures back into the living creatures they were before becoming undead.

Undead do not breathe, eat, or sleep.

Natural Armour according to size. (Medium or large +2)

Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning

Bone Buster: At level 10, the Bone Knight's vile deeds have earned him sword of great power from Vecna. The sword is called Bone Buster. If he should ever lose this sword, he must undergo a quest to reclaim it and earn the favor of Vecna again.
Bone Buster's Stats:

Damage: 3d4 damage versus all sizes.

18-20/x2 critical

Unholy weapon trait

In the hands of a Bone Knight, the Bone Buster gains a +5 Enhancement

In the hands of a Bone Knight, the Bone Knight can cast Finger of Death 1/day. His caster level is equal to his character level and is not subject to spell chance failure due to armor.

Religion: Bone Knight are often described as worshipping the field of battle and the very act of fighting in the same way another would worship a god, or follow an idea. While this does paint a good picture of a Bone Knight mental state, it is far from true, threats have been known to worship gods of everything from nature and natural balance, to gods of honor and glory, and their views and personal beliefs can stretch across any of a thousand other paths.

Other Classes: Bone Knights are most commonly the type of being to act first, and think about the problem later, this fact tends to lead a character to close connections with barbarians and rather rash fighters, and, at the same time, to less than friendly relationships with wizards and other, more calm and intellectual classes. At the same time though, Bone Knights could focus on the ins and outs of a battle, and actually befriend and choose to protect more intellectual characters, and peel away from their melee-based brethren.

Combat: A Bone Knight is someone who has an incredibly agressive role in battle, tending to charge forward, ahead of other characters, and smashing into the enemies frontlines. They tend to rely on their high HD and their class features like numb to help them survive long enough to destroy whatever enemy they are faced with. At the same time, a Bone Knight could fill the role of an assassin, who is dropped behind the enemy lines, charges straight for the biggest danger, and lands a titanic blow upon it, virtually always taking whatever it maybe be out in a single shot.

Advancement: Most commonly, someone who seeks to take levels in Bone Knight will tend to continue to take levels in the class, though, on occasion, a Bone Knight may wish to take levels in another class. Should they seek to do so, there are many avenues of advancement open to them. For example, a Bone Knight who finds himself travelling across many places may seek to take levels in horizon walker. Or, a Bone Knight may seek to take levels in assassin, in order to increase his damage output by an even greater margin. Further still, a Bone Knight who seeks to fight in unusual styles may seek to take levels in metahand, or, a Bone Knight who seeks to protect someone may take a one or two level dip into unworthy or impediment.

Bone Knight usually fit into the role of the destroyer, and find themselves being relied on to wipe the enemies clean from existence. They also can find themselves in the roles of guardians or ordinary distractions. Due to these facts, a threat is usually found in the front end of a battlefield, trading blows with his foes at a relentless rate. Though, a Bone Knight can be found on any kind of battlefield, from the blood soaked ring of a gladiatorial arena, to the wind-swept flats of an extraplanar warground where angels and demons fight. Though, rarely, a Bone Knight may choose to leave the world of battle, and go away, attempt to settle down in a tranquil place. Though, even when this happens, a Bone Knight is still a dangerous foe, for they never forget the manner of battle that they dedicated their lives to.

Daily Life: Life on a day to day string for a Bone Knight can be rather more intense than for another entity, for they are the type to enjoy friendly brawls, and to refuse to back down from a challenge, granting them many scars, and a good few stories to tell. A paticular Bone Knight could not consider a person a friend until they have locked in battle, and this could make for some very interesting day to day events. Though, at the same time, a Bone Knight could view combat as something to be respected, to be reserved for things that truly mattered.

Notables:Uhis Galderan, Male Human Threat: during a single battle, struck the ground so hard that he caused a small earthquake that reached out for miles.

Tertari Uka, Female Centaur Bone Knight: leveled an entire city in the process of fighting a battle that lasted only a few minutes.

Organizations: If a Bone Knight finds themselves inclined to go out and join into a paticular organization, this organization is usually combat-oriented. For example, a Bone Knight could be interested in joining the militia of the town where they live, or adding their force to a prestigious fighters guild. Though, it isn't uncommon for a Bone Knight to find themselves not even wishing to join into an organization at all, and to wish to be a rogue element: an individual who works for themselves and themselves alone.

NPC Reactions: Bone Knight aren't the easiest individuals to spot if they aren't locked in combat or showing off their abilities. Though, whenever one of these situations arrise, they can be instantly picked out from others, since their unstoppable strength is unmistakable. When a person actually sees that a Bone Knight is what they are, their reactions can range anywhere from silent awe to reserved respect to outright fear.

Characters with ranks in gather information can research bone knights to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Bone Knight can be found wherever there is a battle to be had, from the dank fighting pits in the underbelly of a sprawling city, to the blood soaked field of a world shattering battle. A paticular thing that is true about Bone Knights is that they tend to be some of the most feared individuals in any given battle, compared to mythic beasts and war machines by those who survive their onslaught. Though, it is also true that, unless they are part of some military organization, they will tend to move from place to place rather rapidly, always looking for a new fight, or a new foe to stomp on.

Adaptation: Bone Knight can truly be rearranged to slide into any world, no matter how unique or inhospitable this world may be. For example, Bone Knight could only arise when a person is kicked out of a desert tribe, and must learn to fight in the desert, to survive. In another world, it could be that only monks have the discipline to truly master the brutal ways of fighting that the threat employs, and these monks rarely choose to show their technique to anyone.

Sample Encounter: Imion had always been a ruffian, and always found himself getting into fights with the others of his age, but, he never cared, they were all just fun, and he always won besides, that’s what he liked about those fights, the fact that no one could even come close to beating him. Though, as he grew older, he was taught to lead a respectable, reserved life, and not go out looking to get into brawls, since that was 'improper'. He never listened though, and always found himself going back out, sneaking to back alleys to get a few good fights in every night, and still, he always won. His guardians hated this fact, and always scolded him for coming home with ripped clothing, and new wounds to have healed by the local cleric. Still, he didn't care, he enjoyed fighting, and nothing would ever change that fact. Though, one thing would change the way he looked at fighting. One night, when Imion went out to get into a fight or two, he came to the usual place to find an old man there. This man asked Imion for a fight right off the bat. Naturally, Imion accepted. He was beaten within the first 30 seconds of the fight. This made Imion angry, and confused, he never lsot, he was too good to loose, yet there was the old man, standing above him with that calm xpression on his face. Imion couldn't stand it, and after the fight was over, he demanded to know how the old man had beaten him. Thats when the old man replied with something Imion didn't expect, "You should feel proud boy, I haven't had a fight thats lasted for more than 10 seconds for over a decade." He paused for a moment after that, before continuing with, "Tell you what, you come with me, and I'll teach you how to fight like I do." Imion didn't even pause to think about what he was being asked to do, and immediately forsaked his family, leaving with the stranger that same night. Today they still travel together, though, Imion is much stronger now.